Middle East

Middle East

‘Keep dreaming’

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday rebuffed claims by US President Donald Trump that the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites had been destroyed by US strikes in June.

2d ago

Iran executes man over espionage

Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency, the judiciary said yesterday, the latest in a series of executions following a 12-day war in June between the two countries.

3d ago

Netanyahu says will run for PM in next year's election

Appearing on a programme on the right-wing Channel 14, Netanyahu was asked whether he intended to seek another term

3d ago

‘Just a wasteland’

The United Nations’ aid chief took stock of the monumental task of restoring basic necessities in the devastated Gaza Strip yesterday, as Israel and Hamas exchanged more human remains.

4d ago

Nuclear deal with west / Iran ‘terminates’ all mechanisms

Iran yesterday said that it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy”.

4d ago

Israeli forces kill 11-year-old in West Bank

Israeli forces shot dead an 11-year-old boy in the occupied West Bank, his family and health officials said yesterday, while the army said its troops opened fire at rock throwers.

5d ago

Palestinians touring Europe to boost state recognition

Palestinian Authority representatives are touring Europe to try to convince countries that have not yet recognised a Palestinian state to get onboard, a presidential envoy said during a visit to Switzerland Wednesday.

1w ago

Aid trucks roll into Gaza

Aid trucks rolled into Gaza yesterday and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas.

1w ago

Iran says Trump's call for peace 'at odds' with US actions

In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign on Iran, striking nuclear and military facilities

1w ago

Trump takes victory lap in Middle East

As Donald Trump savoured the cheers of Israeli lawmakers, it was a moment of triumph for the US president -- and as usual he made the most of it.

1w ago

Survival of bees, butterflies at risk in Europe: IUCN

The survival of Europe’s wild pollinators is increasingly at risk, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said Saturday as it declared dozens of bee and butterfly species as threatened.

1w ago

Egypt opens one of Valley of the Kings’ tombs to public

The tomb of Pharoah Amenhotep III, one of the largest in southern Egypt’s Valley of the Kings and Queens, was officially opened to the public yesterday, after years of restoration.

2w ago

After false dawns, Gazans hope Trump will end war

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes yesterday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

2w ago

KSA unveils new licensing system for hajj accommodations

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia has announced a new licensing system for pilgrim accommodations in Makkah and Madinah for the 2026 hajj season.

2w ago

Israel intercepts Gaza flotilla

Activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla yesterday said Israeli warships surrounded several of its boats and that the interception of the main vessels was underway.

3w ago

UN sanctions reimposed on Iran

Iran has recalled its envoys to the United Kingdom, France and Germany for consultations, according to state media, after the three European countries triggered a mechanism reinstating the United Nations’ sanctions on the Islamic Republic for the first time in a decade.

3w ago

Israel trying to ‘blow up’ Middle East

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday accused Israel of seeking to “blow up” the whole Middle East as he criticised Israel’s attacks in Iran and Qatar and opposed calls to annex the West Bank.

3w ago

Iran sanctions loom after last-ditch UN vote

Sweeping UN sanctions look likely to return on Iran despite a last-ditch effort yesterday by China and Russia for a delay to allow further talks, diplomats say.

3w ago